our. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are the stories that we're following for you. merrill newman is back with his family in the u.s. his six-week saga in north korea over. south african mourners are holding vigils and memorials for nelson mandela continues. and this marijuana ingredient is bringing hundreds of families with epileptic children to colorado.

>> we'll start with the legacy of nelson mandela. >> part of successful white government that kept nelson mandela in jail and then served for mandela. as u.s. ambassador and then foreign minister it was his task to defend the continued imprisonment of nelson mandela and other political opponent. but privately he long lobbied for mandela's release. >> i submitted a memorandum, due to the effect that mr. mandela ought to be released that we're bringing a bigger martyr of him

every day he stays in prison, and that his international aclaim and status would be growing to an extent that we would not be able to hand it will any more. unfortunately, it continued on. >> here we have a man 27 years in prison. the day he was released he displayed the acumen and attitude of an american who has been a president before. amazing. amazing what insight he had into the minds of people. and for that matter into world affairs. >> and central to the success of the negotiation process that led to a peaceful transfer of power

was mandela's insistence that there need be no losers. that all could read. >> we handed over power. but we were not capitulating. you do not capitulate and surrender when you do the right thing. you liberate yourself. that's what we did. it was not a capitulation. it was liberation. >> reporter: and the what month says he was liberated quotes from a statement that nelson mandela made during his trial all those years ago. >> i have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony, with equal communities.

he concluded by saying it is an ideideal of which i hope to live for and achieve. but if needs be it is an ideal of which i'm prepared to die. after fought white domination. having fought black domination it was that balance in his mind that enabled him to see that it was in the interest of the country. that the blacks needs the whites, and that's the whites need the blacks. that is mandela. that is his legacy. >> the struggle to end apartheid took on many forms. some credit that movement for

the release of ending apartheid itself in the 19 90's. preview, thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> good to be here. >> it was 123-4986 when students at ucla were removed by. tell me about that time. >> it was interesting because there were movements all over the country. but here in california we had some legislators who were pushing for that investment for a long time, and students picked up on that. in addition nationally there was a movement being headed by the

transafrica organization in washington, d.c. and it involved a compass protest outside of enabout embs throughout the country. but we also have to understand that this movement was not only in california, but throughout the united states, and actually throughout the world. and it was a heady time. >> a heady time a time that our current president, president barack obama got caught up in himself when he was younger. he said this was one of the first political movements he was actually, in fact, involved. how do you feel that it drew so many students? >> well, you have to understand what was going on in the world, what was going on in south africa. we had just seen the protest in south africa relating to the

fact that we had the rise in '76. and then there was also a movement to get u.s. companies to divest from south africa, which went from divest. also not to divest but to improve their relationship with the workers, the black workers in south africa. there was a lot of stuff going on. and i think that that catalyzed the students. once they saw that the demonstration has some impact they were eager to jump on board with this election. at ucla students set up what they called shanty towns which

was essentially a place where students went on hunger strikes and made their voices heard. but this was happening all over california and at all uc-campuses. >> and they made a difference professor, than thank you for jg us. >> thank you for having me. >> this is a happy day for veteran merrill newman. melissa chan is outside of their retirement community where mrs. and mr. newman live. have they arrived back yet, do we know? >> no signs of them yet. we do expect them at any moment. although the tricky thing with this is that there are several entrances and he may want to avoid the media there has about

so focus and attention on his case. with himself there has always been concern about his health. while in north korea he nee need heart medication, and his family never knew if he was getting it. he did look healthy if not a little overwhelmed, and we had brief remarks to reporters. >> it's been a great home coming. and thank you all for the support we got, and very much appreciate it. >> and merrill newman was not able to make it home for thanksgiving, but he is home for the holidays. that is good news. richelle? >> tell us why this trip went so wrong for him. he went to north korea for a reason. explain why it is that he was

detained. >> reporter: that's an excellent question because something that a lot of people don't know quite a number of american soldiers who fought in the korean war visited north korea with the knowledge north korea. but merrill ne newman was not an ordinary foot soldier. he was part of the white tigers, and who were so secret that no one new about them in the 1990s when documents were declassified. for the north koreans, they never signed a peace treaty with the united states. their propaganda tells them that war is emanant with the united states and it could begin at any point. that's what north korea has been

saying. >> now they have still have another american as well. tell bus that. >> this is kenneth bay, the other american--now the only american being held in north korea. what is very enlightening about the case is that the north koreans had decided to release merrill newman who was involved in the north korean war and possibly killed north koreans. but kenneth bay is a missionary teaching christianity. and that is a crime. he has a sentence of 15 years in prison. >> 15 years.

we'll continue to follow that story, and we'll keep an eye open for when mr. as mrs. newman arrived home. turning to afghanistan. the security agreement between the two countries will be signed in a timely fashion. hagel arrived in afghanistan this morning. afghan president hamid karzai threw a wrench in the negotiations when he said that he would not sign the agreement until after elections in spring of 2014. >> hassan rouhani described the pursuit of nuclear technology as a definite right, and said that iran has a right to live without sanctions. demonstrators of ukraine are back on the street after reports

of a meeting between its president and the russian president vladimir putin. the meetings sparked fears that ukraine would agree to deals with the russians rather than the european union. >> there are reports that there have been deals signed with russia worth $174 million of aid. ukraine needs this money simply to pay its creditors. it's reserves are start to go run low and it is in dire economic circumstances. these reports are unconfirmed yet they spread more angrier gons th angs

demonstrators because of the it's president failed to sign a deal with the e.u. and sunday they are planning a big one. they want to repeat the successful mobilization that they had last weekend here. and they desperately need to keep this momentum going because they know if they mail to do that, then president yanukovych may well hang on to power with moscow's help. >> keep it there. we have much more coming including a live report from south africa where the celebration of nelson mandela's life continues.

every sunday night al jazeera every sunday night al jazeera america presents gripping films america presents gripping films from the world's top from the world's top documentary directors. documentary directors. an act of terror then a rush to an act of terror then a rush to justice for pan am flight 103. justice for pan am flight 103. >> the eyes of the world will be >> the eyes of the world will be on us. on us. >> an investigation under >> an investigation under scrutiny. scrutiny. >> it looks nothing like him. >> it looks nothing like him. somebody's telling lies. somebody's telling lies. >> this was a miscarriage of >> this was a miscarriage of justice. justice. >> did they get the wrong man? >> did they get the wrong man? >> there's something else >> there's something else going on. going on. >> a shocking documentary >> a shocking documentary event begins with: event begins with: the pan am bomber the pan am bomber on al jazeera america presents. on al jazeera america presents. >> it's been two days since nelson mandela died. in south africa the vigils, the memorials continue. the crowds continue to come as well. the candlelight vigil continues outside of the house where

nelson mandela lived. and tomorrow begins the official week of mourning in honor of its late president. >> surely, nick, search sad when you lose someone but this is a true celebration of the life of nelson mandela. >> yes, i can hear you through all the din. people drinking, people dancing, people celebrating. all day we've seen people selling ice cream and t-shirts being sold, and people remembering this man, remembering how they interacted with him on a certain level. every certainly person i talked to remembers whe him, saying i

remember when i talked to him or i i remember when he spoke. and his spokesman was speaking out at a press conference today and i think he spoke for many people when he said the following. let's take a listen. >> the hous household is no mort his spirit is still with us. >> there are a lot of children as well. have you spoken to people who are explaining why they feel the need to be there? it seems that they want their children to be there for something historic. >> yeah, i think the skinner in soweto are being--i think the children in soweto are being taught about what nelson mandela did for their country.

this street posted the worst single battle in the struggle against apartheid. the kids here and many i have spoken to earlier in the day say they really have no idea, but they say you owe your freedom to this man. you may not really understand what we're doing today, but you better pay your request. celebrate him for all that he has done for all the generations. you really see that, young, old, black, white, they started about 12 hours ago and they'll continue for another 12 hours. >> and if the young kids don't appreciate it now, they will when they get hold. thank you so much. just an appeals court reduced a controversial prison sentence for 21 women and girls. the initial sentence of 11 years

behind bars caused outrage. 21 women and girls were convicted for protesting for the hosted mohamed morsi. the girls were given three months probation and they were all released from jail today. keep it here on al jazeera america. we have so much more to come.

power power of the people until we restore of the people until we restore our freedoms

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are today's headlines. merrill newman, who had been retained in north korea, is back home with his family. he was released overnight after a six-week ordeal. south africans continue to mourn the passing of its leader nelson mandela and they celebrate his life. assurances from afghanistan. the defense minister said that

the pact between the two countries will be signed in a timely fashion, that's a quote. a phone grinch within the u.k.'s air traffic control system has delayed hundreds of flights and stranded thousands of passengers throughout the country. >> more than 200 flights have been canceled here at heathrow airport, but the technical glitch is effecting mea many moe airports. so potentially that many flights could be effected but it is still running at 80% capacity. the problem was trying to switch from nighttime operations to daytime operations. the air traffic control officer said during the night it combine air

space because it doesn't have as many flights coming through, but during the day they increase in air traffic. they have identified the glitch, and they're working to fix it. meanwhile, airlines are advising people to check in before they head to the airport t to avoid what could be a very long wait at the departure gate. >> meteorologist: well, it was a quiet day across much of the country. our latest frontal boundary has crossed the country. down in texas where we had eyese yesterday interest is a system bringing snow, rain to california. we're looking at rain across los angeles today. you can see the spi system is

spinning in the atmosphere and producing quite a bit of snow across portions of utah. if you're traveling long i-15 you want to take it easy because with could see one to three inches of snow and there could be white out conditions to add to that. it's a chilly day to say the least. that's why we have freeze warnings in effect across portions of california. if you have plants, bring them inside. if you have pets outdoors, bring them inside well. by tomorrow, the continues improve as that area of low pressure continues to tract across the east. phoenix only at 56 degrees. now quiet across the plains right now but that storm will continue to push east. we could continue to see snow from i-35. and then take a look at how chilly it is despite the fact that the sun is shining across

the central plains. >> colorado one of the first states to approve medical marijuana and todays is turning colorado into a frontiers for families with children with epilepsy. >> the night before we visited, she had a grand mall seizure that left we ar left her drowsy. and unresponsive. >> this is what we take now. here is some more and here is some more. >> but the pills and promises didn't work. on her worse night i counted 72 grand mall seizures. out of options they packed up and moved to colorado to join

other marijuana refugees. like them jordan is on the waiting list for medication that is extracted from this coveted planet. >> you can see the white tops, these hold the cbd, which is the chemical compound that is medicine we grow. the medical pot was grown four years ago by a family of six brothers. >> many people think we're giving pot to kids. that's not quite the case. >> charlotte's web is different than the more common form of medical pot. instead of being loaded with psycho active thc, it was designed to help cancer patients control the side-effects of chemotherapy. >> we had no idea that we would delve into the realm of

pediatric medication. >> reporter: kids don't get high but they do get well. >> if there is a rare form of epilepsy. before charlottes web he spent a decade seizing. >> by the age of five. zakai jackson had experienced 500,000 seizures. but in the year since he started on the marijuana oil extract wes seizure free. >> you're drawing your brother. >> pediatricianings who treetop acceptly are intrigued. but dr. christian wan to see more research. >> the effectiveness is defined by randomized placebo trials. those are still lacking to date. we have case reports. and because of case reports we should look into this further. >> for pam, marijuana is the last thing she woul would have

imagined giving her child but now she's planning to saying it's a matter of saving her life. >> do we need to know the answers before we stop kids from dying? no. >> clinical trials on 30 patients will be presented to a national epilepsy conference next month. >> finally a decade's old guitar continues to rock-n-roll. bob dylan's guitar sold for $965,000, the highest paid for guitar at action. he played this instrument at 1965 folk festival shocking his fans that he went electric. they were mad and called the folk pioneer a sellout. it was one of the most notable events in music history. almost $1 million for that guitar. thank you for watching al jazeera america. we'll have news updates

throughout the day at www.aljazeera.com. . . hello and welcome. hello and welcome. i'm phil torres, we'll talk i'm phil torres, we'll talk about about innovations that will innovations that will change laughs. change laughs. we'll look at hardware. we'll look at hardware. this is a show about science by this is a show about science by scin histories. scin histories. kyle hill is an engineer, and kyle hill is an engineer, and he's investigating head-to-head he's investigating head-to-head combat and cutting edge combat and cutting edge technology that can help to technology that can help to detect a concussion before detect a concussion before it's it's too late. too late. >> lindsay moran is an ex-c.i.a. >> lindsay moran is an ex-c.i.a. operative. operative. she was packaging that can one she was packaging that can one day replace day replace